Electric light fixture



March '26, 1940. A. A. J o'Hfls oiu 2,194,905

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Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,194,905 ELECTRIC LIGHT rnr'runu Arthur A. Johnson, New Bedford, Mass, 'assignor to John I. Paulding, Inc., New Bedford, Mass, a a corporation of Massachusetts Applicationl'anuary 28, 1937, Serial No. 122,684 l 1 Claim. (01. 17s-ss4) This invention relates to electric lighting fixtures and more particularly to a convenience outlet for that class of fixtures made of moldable insulating material.

In that class of electric lighting fixtures comprising wall brackets, ceiling canopies or brackets, and similar fixtures, it has been customary for some time to form the body of the fixture from moldable insulating material such as porcelain and the like, and to provide these bodies with convenience outlets. In many of these structures, it has been customary to form recesses in the inner face of the molded body opening out the front face through a pair of jackblade slots and to fasten to said inner face a plate or other member carrying the contactsfor a convenience outlet, which project into said recesses in position to be engaged by the blades of an attachment plug inserted in said slots. 00 One objection to this form is that the screw or other fastening means used for holding the contact-carrying element securely in position is visible on the outer face of the body and detracts from the attractiveness of its appearance.

To overcome this objection, it has been proposed to provide the molded body with jackblade slots and to form a separate molded body of box-like structure, having chambers adapted to contain the contacts, which box is fused to the inner face of the molded body in register with the jack-blade slots. This form of structure avoids the foregoing objection, but all of the foregoing structures are open to the further objection that the use of a separate contactcarrying element involves additional parts and unduly increases the cost of providing a convenience outlet in such fixtures, and to the further objection that the use of such a structure is limited to fixtures which are either hollow or provided with an inner space of suificient depth to accommodate the parts. In many fixtures, the molded body is substantially solid and fits so closely to the supporting surface that no space isafiorded for using any of the "foregoing forms of construction.

The principal object of the invention is the provision, in an electric lighting fixture having a body portion of molded insulating material, of a convenience outlet which is simple and com- 1 pact in construction, which may be easily assembled, and which can be made at a'very low cost. Another object of the invention is theprovision of a convenience outlet of suchform that 5 5 the necessary slots and recesses may be formed inserted in the jack-blade in the body during the molding processwithout involving any additional expense.

A further object is the provision of an outlet whichcan be used in any form-of insulating body, whether it be solid o'rihollow, or'whether 5 there is any space or none between its-inner face and the surface upon'which it is mounted.

Another object of the invention is theprovision of a contact so formed that when installed in the convenience outlet, it is locked in po'si- 1 tion against disturbance by the jack-blades of an attachment plug inserted in'the slots.

Other objects of the invention will be Y set forth and described hereinafter;

In its preferred embodiment, my invention 15 contemplates, in a molded insulating body of an electric lighting fixture, the'provisi'on' of a convenience outlet comprisin'g'a' plurality of. open slots, preferably parallel to 'each other," formed in theinner face ofthebody', and arranged 2 in pairs, a contact for each pair, and an'insulating cover for closing the slots and for -hold'-" ing the contacts in operative position.

Each pair of slots comprises a contact slotand a wire slot separated by awall but in close proximity to each other. v Thecontacts are preferably. U-shaped and are mounted each straddling a wall between a contact slot and a wirev slot, with an end projecting into each slot. Each contactslot opens out the outer face of-the so insulating body through a jack-blade slot, and that end of each contact whichfprojects into the contact slot'is so positioned therein" as to be engaged by a blade of an attachment plug when;

slot, and that end of each contact hich projects into the wire slot is adapted to'be soldered to the ends of one or more wires or conductors laid in; saidwire slot.

For locking each contact in position, thehead of the contact is provided with anopening adapt- 9 ed to receive a' projection formed on the edge of the wall or abutment between the two slots. The cover of insulating'material', which i's'pro-r vided for closing the open sides of ;the slots, has suitable openings for receiving the projeca tions on which the contacts are'm'ounted to lock it against lateral movement and is fastened to the inner face of the insulating body by a screw or' other suitable means. f This form of convenience outlet has anumber of distinct advantages. All of the slots may be formed in'the body when it is molded without increasing the-cost of the r'nolding'process; The

assembling process involves nothing' more than mounting a pair of contacts in proper position in relation to the slots, placing the ends of the wires or conductors in the wire slots and soldering them to their respective contacts, then placing the cover in position and fastening it by a screw or other means.

This reduces the convenience outlet to a minimum of parts and involves a minimum of steps in assembling, and also eliminates all necessity for additional contact-carrying members. Furthermore, the use of an outlet made in accord-- ance with my invention is not restricted by the form of the insulating body, since it may be used in bodies which are practically solid by merely providing a suitable recess in the inner face of the body which will permit the formation of the parallel open slots required by my construction.

In the accompanying drawing showing one embodiment of the invention for the purpose of illustrating the principle thereof, Figure 1 is a front elevation of an electric lighting fixture in the form of a wall bracket, provided with a convenience outlet constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical central sectional view of same on line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the lower portion of the bracket in which the convenience outlet is located;

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the insulating cover of the outlet removed to disclose the interior formation of the outlet with one of the contacts seated in place, the other being omitted;

Fig. 5 is a plan view, partly in section, on line 5--5 in Figure 4, looking downwardly;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, on line 6-6 in Figure 4;

Fig. 7 is a. horizontal sectional view on line 1-1 in Figure 4; and

Fig. 8 is a view in perspective of a contact.

In the drawing, there is shown an electric lighting fixture which is provided with a convenience outlet made in accordance with my invention. The body portion of the fixture is in the form of a hollow shell of any suitable insulating material, but preferably of porcelain, and the convenience outlet is formed in the body of the shell during the molding process. Although the particular form of fixture shown is one adapted for use as a wall bracket, the invention is not limited thereto, since it may be embodied in any form of fixture having a body portion of molded insulating material in which the outlet may be formed.

Referring to the drawing l0 designates a fixture insulating body shown in the form of a hollow shell having a flanged base portion H for engaging a wall or other supporting surface and a projecting portion l2 for housing a lamp socket I3 of any suitable form, which latter portion I 2 is provided with an opening It for inserting a lamp IS in the socket. The shell is made of any suitable moldable insulating material but preferably of porcelain.

The body I0 is provided with a convenience outlet which is formed in a thickened portion l8 in the lower end of the body having a back face inset from the base portion and which comprises a pair of parallel open contact slots 20 separated by an intermediate abutment or wall 22, a wire slot 23 in the back face on each side of said pair of contact slots and parallel thereto and separated from' the adjacent contact slot by a wall or abutment 24, and a U-shaped contact 25 mounted on each wall 24 and having one end projecting into a contactslot and the other end into a wire slot.

All of these slots have opposite side walls lying in planes which are all parallel, so that in this respect the slots may be regarded as parallel each to all the others. Along one edge and at their upper ends, however, all the slots open out on the backand the inner face, respectively, of the body ID. The wire slots are closed at their lower ends but the contact slots at'those ends open out the front face of said body through jack-blade slots 26. The outer face of the body I 0 surrounding the jack-blade slots has a fiattened surface 21 for serving as a seat for an attachment plug 28 when the blades 29 thereof are inserted in the slots 26, as shown in Figure 2. The inner edge wall 30 (Fig. 6) of each contact slot is perpendicular to the flattened surface 21. The contact slots are of a width sufficient to accommodate one end of a contact and one blade of an attachment plug in sliding contact therewith.

For locking each contact 25 against lateral movement, each wall or abutment 24 is provided in its outer edge with a small projection 32 which fits in an opening 34 in the head of the contact, and each contact is preferably formed to fit closely over the outer edge of the wall.

Those ends of the contacts which lie in the Wire slots are attached by soldering or other means to the ends of wires 36 and 37 laid in said slots. The two wires 36 connect the two contacts to the two sides of the line respectively of the main circuit, and the wires 33 form the lamp circuit controlled by a switch in the lamp socket l3, which is opened and closed by a pull chain. The wires 36 and 37 pass out of the wire slots through their open upper ends. The two contacts 25, being connected directly in the main circuit, are, therefore, always alive.

For closing the open sides of all the slots and for holding the contacts in position, a cover 42 of suitable insulating material may be fastened to the back face of the body Iii by a screw 43 or other suitable means. This back face, being inset from the base portion of the fixture, provides room for receiving the cover 42. The cover is preferably in the form of a rectangular plate of fiber and is provided with openings for receiving the ends of the projections 32 which hold the plate against lateral movement. The screw 43 may be threaded into the body lil, or, as shown in the particular form of fixture illustrated, it may serve the additional function of fastening in place a clamp 45, which at its free end overlaps a portion of the lamp socket to hold it in fixed position in the projecting portion [2 of the body In. In such case, the screw is mounted in a bore and its end threaded through one end of the clamp which is seated in a recess 46. The tightening of the screw locks both the cover and the clamp in their proper and effective positions.

The contacts 25 are preferably stamped out of thin sheet or strap metal, the openings 3 and the struck-out bosses 47 on the contact ends being formed in the stamping operation, and the contacts are then bent into a U-shape to fit the walls 24 on which they are intended to be mounted.

The assembling operation is extremely simple. All that is required is to place the two contacts in proper position on their respective walls, lay in each wire slot the ends of the two wires stripped of insulation and solder them to that portion of each contact which projects into the wire slot,

and then place the cover in position and fasten 1 it to the insulating body by a screw or other means. Preferably, the wires are attached to the contacts by soldering andVthis-is done with the parts in their assembled position. The wires may, however, be connected to the contacts by any other suitable method and during or "before the assembling of the outlet. It will be observed that this operation may be expeditiously performed and that it involves a manipulation of but a single fastening element.

It is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific form herein shown and described, since it maybe embodied in various other forms within the scope of the following claim.

What I claim is:

A device of the class described comprising an insulating body having a back face inset from its base and havingformed in said body a chamber opening out the front and back faces of said body through a jack blade slot, said body having a wire slot in said back face closed from the forward face thereof and opening out at one end into said chamber and separated from said jack blade slot by a wall having a projection fromits edge, a U shaped convenience plug contact extending over said wall and provided with an opening to receive said projection, one end of said contact projecting into "said jack blade slot in posi-' tion to be contacted by a jack blade inserted into said slot and the other end lying in said wire slot in position for securement to a, wire in said slot, acover of insulating materialengaging said back face and bridging said wall and wire slot and securing a wire 'in said wire slotleading into said chamber through said open end and closing the back of said jackblade slot and having an opening to receive said projection and engaging said contact, and means for securing said cover in position. l

ARTHUR A. JOHNSON. 

